Changemaker

The unseen struggle of women holding the line in sustainability

Bronagh Loughlin — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:54:50 +0000

The unseen struggle of women holding the line in sustainability

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I was a college student studying journalism when I first truly connected with the climate crisis. Growing up, sustainability habits, like recycling and ‘hand-me-down’ clothes and toys, along with a fascination with the outdoors and wildlife, were woven into my daily life.

However, it wasn’t until I stumbled upon a post by The Useless Project (Sustainable Fashion Dublin at the time) that sustainability took on a much more personal meaning to me.

The curtain was officially pulled down on the fashion industry, and I learned that behind the low prices and mass production were women working in unsafe, exploitative conditions.

It hit me deeply, and it was the first time I truly understood that sustainability was more than just the environment; it encompassed justice and equity, too.

As I continued learning more, I recognised how climate change disproportionately affects women, so the mission to work in this field became more personal and sharpened my sense of purpose.

Having worked as a sustainability journalist and since stepping into the corporate space where my company, the Institute of Sustainability Studies (ISS), is helping close the green skills gap across organisations, I’ve spoken to many people, particularly women, and I’ve come to realise just how common this emotional connection to climate is.

These women - founders, consultants, and leaders - feel that same sense of responsibility to fight for justice for our own.

This piece is a reflection of this reality, bringing together the voices of women holding the line in sustainability.

Sustainability isn’t just strategy; it’s personal

Across the interviews I’ve conducted for this piece, a common thread has emerged: sustainability isn’t just work, it’s identity, values, and purpose.

Michele Hallahan, a Senior Sustainability Consultant and Faculty Member at the ISS, describes how she had to take more than a year off from university teaching due to the mental toll of “trying to make more of a difference.”

For her, boundaries between personal and professional don’t exist when it comes to caring for the planet.

She explains: “Psychopaths can do this with ease. But for me, sustainability work NEEDS people who bring their love, compassion, concern, and care to the job.”

Similarly, Pat Kane, founder of reuzi and Faculty Member at ISS, shares:

“As nurturers by nature, we often feel a strong personal responsibility for the well-being of both people and the planet.”

This connection is powerful, but it comes at a cost.

Pat Kane, founder of reuzi and Faculty Member at the Institute of Sustainability Studies

Proving their place over and over again

The path to influence in sustainability is often littered with scepticism and bias, particularly for women.

Nazia Husain, Product Manager at ISS, highlights how she faced resistance to her ideas early in her career because sustainability wasn’t seen as a business imperative.

She reflects:

“I learned to frame sustainability in terms of risk mitigation and operational efficiency to gain buy-in.”

For Michele Hallahan, gender bias was stark: “If I had been born into the body of a man, I would have been taken seriously, at face value.”

And while progress has been made, particularly with more women in decision-making roles, this undercurrent persists.

Kate Williams, CEO of Bold Donut and avocate for gamifiaction as an effective tool to adopt sustainability practices, echoes a different but familiar challenge - legitimacy.

She says:

“In the early days, I was often asked to justify my credentials. It wasn’t until I framed my entire career, not just the sustainability part, that I began to be taken seriously.”

Kate Williams, CEO of Bold Donut

The strain of caring too much

The emotional toll is particularly heavy because the stakes are so high.

Climate change isn’t an abstract concept, it’s an existential threat. For many women working on the frontlines of climate action, the pace of change is maddeningly slow.

Sarah Blake, Director at Earthology and Faculty Member at ISS, points to the importance of “actionable, incremental progress” as a way to stay grounded.

Her integration of the Inner Development Goals helps her cultivate resilience and set boundaries as she highlights that “The Great Turning is a process, and we all play a part”.

Still, burnout is a common experience. Diana Kessler, Digital Marketing Manager at Techies Go Green, notes that bringing her work into every dinner conversation made her realise how all-consuming the job had become.

She explains:

“Once you start to fear that certain actions discredit your identity as someone who cares about climate change, it can go downhill.”

Setting boundaries - or trying to

Pat describes boundary-setting as a “daily practice” rather than a perfect system.

She now assesses how much emotional energy she’s investing and relies on peers and hobbies to stay balanced.

Boundaries are a recurring topic, but one that many admit they’re still learning to navigate.

Nazia candidly shares:

“Passion for sustainability makes it easy to blur the lines. But setting clear boundaries is essential for longevity.”

Nazia Husain, Product Manager at the Institute of Sustainability Studies

For entrepreneurs like Kate Williams, who co-founded a sustainability business with her partner, the risk of mission creep into personal life is real.

She shares: “At the beginning, we had no boundaries. Now, we only talk business off-hours if both of us are up for it.”

Building community, finding resilience

Whether through yoga, running, peer networks, or climate dinners, every woman interviewed spoke of the necessity of finding community.

Sarah Blake turns to nature and peer-led communities like Deep Time Walks and the Inner Development Goals.

Pat Kane draws inspiration from a long list of supportive women in sustainability, from entrepreneurs to wellness leaders.

Diana Kessler champions volunteerism as both support and perspective. She says: “The An Taisce Climate Ambassador programme was incredibly motivating, and networking groups like Women and Climate provide so much energy.”

Advice from the frontlines

What would these leaders say to those just entering the field?

“Pace yourself. Celebrate small wins. Change is layered—every contribution matters”,

says Nazia Husain.

“Set firm boundaries, and say no to free work - your contribution has value”,

Pat Kane advises.

Kate Williams adds:

“Don’t drown in doom and gloom. If bad news compounds your stress, seek out stories of progress. They exist.”

Diana Kessler offers a final note of empowerment:

“Combine passions. Climate doesn’t have to be your only motivator. Find joy in what you do.”

The women driving sustainability forward are doing more than transforming business practices; they’re redefining leadership.

Their stories show the profound emotional labour involved in systems change.

However, they also reveal a new model of leadership: one that is empathetic, collaborative, and unapologetically human.

In a world that demands transformation, their ability to hold space for grief, joy, burnout, and breakthroughs is not a weakness but a strength.

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Am I filling my boots? Changemakers battle with imposter syndrome

Bronagh Loughlin — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 10:48:14 +0000

Am I filling my boots? Changemakers battle with imposter syndrome

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Imposter syndrome is not a mental health issue but is a strong set of intrusive thoughts and feelings involving getting anxious and not experiencing success internally.

Usually, people experiencing this emotional whirlwind are high-performing in external, objective ways. However, they still feel like ‘a phoney’ or a fraud’ and question and doubt their abilities. They are continuously anticipating their fraudulence and inadequacy to come to light.

There is added stress with imposter syndrome to keep up the ‘charade’; that time is running out, and they will be uncovered.

Generally, imposter syndrome creeps up when you begin to appear publicly or in front of other people.

As a leader trying to make change happen, initiate climate action or raise awareness about societal issues, putting yourself out there into the world is part of the deal.

Some common characteristics of imposter syndrome include undervaluing contributions, self-doubt, and attributing success to external factors.

A survey by NerdWallet uncovered that 78 per cent of business leaders experience imposter syndrome, and it causes 59 per cent to consider leaving their role.

Sabotaging self-success, constant fear of not living up to people’s expectations, setting unrealistic expectations, and burnout are also known to occur.

Burnout enters the equation here because it is very common for people to push themselves too intensely to overcome a sense of incompetence.

Slowly, their work becomes more of a chore than a source of passion, purpose, creativity, and meaning because they are burning the candle at both ends.

Imposter syndrome drives anxiety and fear of not being good enough and can easily lead to burnout and mental health issues. Image: Pexels

If you are working in the sustainability or social justice space, leading an ambitious project, you’ve probably experienced imposter syndrome before on some level.

It is partly because you are not just exposing yourself but have the added challenge of trying to get people to ‘buy’ into your mission and, most likely, your passion.

You may think to yourself: ‘Why should they listen to me?’, ‘There is probably someone more suitable to drive them to make these changes’, the list goes on.

Imposter syndrome is something I feel regularly and has only intensified since I transitioned from a freelancer to a social entrepreneur by founding Purpose Content Studio, which set out to change the climate narrative. Now, I find myself feeling out of my depth and far outside of my comfort zone.

It doesn’t sound so bad when you see the word ‘owner’, but the title ‘CEO’, ‘Founder’, or ‘Director’ definitely causes some uneasiness, particularly for those who do not have the highest levels of self-esteem, like me. I think it is because a lot of pressure comes from these titles.

Especially when operating in arenas where change is vital, there is real pressure that because you are a ‘changemaker’ or ‘leader’, you must have all the answers and constantly achieve small or big wins.

Just as many are hesitant to adopt sustainable changes or take climate action for fear they won’t add up to much of an impact, those who suffer from imposter syndrome worry their contribution won’t matter.

Like most people reading this, I have put in the time, energy, and hard work to get to where I am today.

There’s much evidence to suggest I am wearing the right shoes, but still, my mind needs some convincing, and I worry I need to go up a size and a half.

Some may even think imposter syndrome is not a big deal, that it has more to do with self-image and esteem.

However, research has found that it can impact work performance and relationships, dripping into other areas of your life; in my experience, I’ve found myself suddenly not feeling competent or good enough in other instances.

The premise of imposter syndrome is that you are not good enough, and your current portfolio of achievements is the simple result of luck, leaving you with that little voice in your head of self-doubt despite success – washing away the enjoyment of your achievement.

Our minds are like sponges, and just as we can recondition to improve our well-being and self-esteem, continuously thinking poorly of ourselves can do the exact opposite.

Of course, ‘snapping out of it’, as some would say, is a lot easier said than done.

Despite imposter syndrome being incredibly common in the social entrepreneur and impact innovator community, many still feel ashamed to speak openly about experiencing it.

In saying that, silence and isolation are what keep these demons kicking.

You’d be surprised to learn how many people in your circle are dealing with these exact struggles, feeling inadequate and worthless. In order to deal with imposter syndrome and replace these feelings of incompetence with beliefs of adequacy and greatness, we need to encourage conversations.

Imposter syndrome has to stop being a hush-hush topic and be understood as something we all struggle with at some point, reframing it as a signal that it is time for growth and good things are pending.

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What makes changing the world so difficult?

Sinead Connolly — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 17:02:24 +0000

What makes changing the world so difficult?

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Despite having the evidence and realising the need for change to address the grand societal challenges of our time, it is still not happening at the pace and scale you would expect. But why?

You can put together a long list of why making change happen is difficult. It is complex and requires more data, discussions, planning, resources, and so on.

But one of the simplest and most overlooked reasons is that in order to change the world, we need to first change on a personal level. And this is more complicated than it sounds.

Before even moving forward to explore the nature of change, we should take a step back to understand the term better. Based on the definition of Addison-Wesley (1991), Change is situational, like a new boss, a new team role, a new policy. While Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation. Change is external, transition is internal.

Therefore, whenever we are talking about personal change, we need to look at the process of transition.

We deal with infinite changes throughout our lifetime, which can be great or small, anticipated or unforeseen. Whether positive or negative, any transition may mean a period of adjustment. Accepting the new reality is even more difficult if it is unexpected or out of our control.

The whole process is problematic because it is a loss of the familiar, and our initial reaction can be one of shock and resistance.

In order to understand how people react to change over a period of time, we can draw on the expertise of the Scott and Jaffe Change Grid Model. Cynthia Scott and Dennis Jaffe developed this model and first introduced it in their article, ‘Survive and Thrive in Times of Change’ in 1988. The model, which has been attributed to psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief Model, shows a progression of four stages as people react to change.

There are different emotional reactions to each stages of processing change.

The reason for drawing a parallel between change and grief is because letting go of the old is experienced as a form of grieving. Another element to add to the mix of why it is challenging to start change.

The first stage of this model is Denial, which can take the form of ignoring the change, downplaying it or acting as if it will never happen.

The next stage, Resistance, is driven by fear of loss. In this phase, feelings of anger, bitterness and frustration will abound. People will resist moving forward as they don’t believe there is anything to gain from making a change.

Eventually, this is followed by the Exploration phase, when we have accepted that the change is unavoidable and new methods are finally explored.

Finally, the Commitment stage is characterised by a focus on the future and a pledge to the new mode of living/operating.

The above mentioned original concept developed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in the 1960’ has been adopted and further elaborated by change management practitioners to help leaders manage people while introducing changes in organisations.

The seven-phase transition or change curve is a valuable tool in the hands of modern leaders if they aim to deliver change, create a new status quo and engage their team along the way. This model can also be a powerful tool in understanding the ignorance and resistance to change regarding climate action.

Rather than blaming people for their inaction, we can look at ways to help them overcome the challenges associated with the different stages of transition.

Since the first humans walked the earth, we as a race have been adapting to and evolving to suit and shape our surroundings. Modern humans survived because we developed a unique combination of physical and behavioural characteristics, many of which other early human species also possessed, though not to the same degree.

As we mourn the many losses of the pandemic and face the uncertainty of the climate crisis, it’s natural to fear further upheaval or change.

However, whether we want it or not, change is the only constant and living a full life means accepting the challenges along with the celebrations.

Challenges offer opportunities for greater connections and growth; from that new vantage point, we can re-evaluate where we want to go.

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Changemaker pop quiz with Vojtěch Vosecký, Circular Economy expert

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 12:12:01 +0000

Changemaker pop quiz with Vojtěch Vosecký, Circular Economy expert

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Thoughts on transforming cities, mindsets and making change happen on the field to mainstream Circular Economy.

Changemaker Profile

Name: Vojtěch Vosecký

Field of work: Circular Economy

Roles: Associate at Circle Economy; Chairman of the Circular Economy Steering Committee at the City of Prague; Co-founder of Institute of Circular Economy

Personal motivation

I have always been shocked by how wasteful our society is.

I have also wondered how we can have a good quality of life without ruining our planet. We will be 10 billion people in the next 30 years, and we are already seeing the extreme impacts our society has on the local and global ecosystems. I think that a circular economy is one of the essential tools to solve climate change. Back then, when I was still studying, I had this lightbulb moment when I realised that I would spend the rest of my life working with the concept.

Experiencing change

Ten or even five years ago, the Circular Economy was a niche concept. Many people on a corporate or governmental level have never heard about it, not to mention average citizens. We have spent a lot of time explaining the concept, the benefits and the needs.

Today, the discussion is very different.

Circular Economy is becoming mainstream, and there is tremendous momentum, myriad of solutions, startups, local and governmental initiatives, or jobs opening for circular economy specialists.

It is hard to point a finger on why it has changed, but I think that the EU had a lot to do with its Circular Economy Action Plans and directives that followed.

This has set a new and very attractive vision for the whole continent. As the concept matured, it was as if both the business and environmental movements got a new source of inspiration that was appealing from both perspectives. I think a lot of people feel like this has been missing in the debate around climate change.

And of course, as the discussion about climate change also advanced, and Circular Economy successfully piggybacked on the whole movement.

Vojtěch Vosecký, Circular Economy expert

What is missing?

Circular Economy is definitely not the new business as usual yet - maybe in sustainability departments of cities, governments and companies, but not in your average local food store. Buckminster Fuller once said that to change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. We still have a long way to go before we make the linear Economy obsolete. Still, we are starting to see a number of disruptive changes, especially in the mobility and retail sectors.

It sounds like a cliché, but regulation needs to keep up with the latest trends. It is hard to create products and services that are more durable, repairable, recyclable, and at a competitive price.

Linear Economy is still thriving because we were not able to properly account for negative externalities, such as carbon footprint, material toxicity, or the social aspects of global supply chains.

Biggest hope

I hope the Circular Economy movement will manage to redefine the discussion about purpose and growth and start producing and promoting inherently sustainable solutions.

But I am also concerned that the Circular Economy community is avoiding the inconvenient truth about unsustainable consumption.

We keep promoting countries like Sweden, Denmark, and The Netherlands as sustainability pioneers, yet if everyone lived like Denmark, we would need five planets to sustain our needs.

What inspires you?

I love the stories that keep popping up on a city level. For example, in Prague, we have made tremendous progress. I'm passionate about transforming the city of Prague to become a genuine inspiration for adopting Circular Economy principles.

One of the projects Vosecký is passionate about is transforming the city of Prague to become a leading exampe of adopting Circular Economy. Image: Unsplash

My favourite story is about the food systems. Food waste prevention campaigns and collection schemes enable us to put valuable nutrients back to the farms in and around Prague. Waste collection trucks can run on the bioCNG, which we will produce from digesting the biomass collected in the city. Farmers now have to abide by eco-certified principles while managing the 500 hectares owned by the town. We have seen a positive spike in biodiversity, amongst other indicators.

Schools are starting to procure locally sourced and sustainably produced food for children, combined with awareness-raising campaigns. The number of urban farms is also increasing. And it is all part of the same story – closing the biomass loop on a local level.

Plans for the future

I want to keep doing what I am doing: Helping Prague be a regional leader in Circular Economy, advocating for the concept in various venues while supporting the Nordics in becoming a true leader in Circular Economy together with Circle Economy.

But the distant plan would be to keep my eyes open for a truly disruptive and scalable circular economy solution available to the whole world. Once I find the right people with the same ideas, I will get to work with the same passion as always.

Read the full interview with more insights in the Winter 2021/22 issue of the Profit with Purpose Magazine >>

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